Rep. Deutch: What a real public servant looks like

LIGHTHOUSE POINT, FLORIDA- Light gleams across the smooth surface of the water at the Nauti Dawg, a local restaurant, where Rep. Ted Deutch amicably meets some of his new constituents. He shakes hands with the three owners of the joint, two sisters and a younger brother, and unwittingly runs into one of his staff member’s parents.

He answers questions on a plethora of issues, ranging from his newly instated Climate Solutions Caucus, a group of Democrats and Republicans devoted to helping Americans erase our imprint on the Earth, to President Trump’s Twitter account.

The answer to my questions isn’t what surprised me about Deutsch: it was his eloquence, amicability and ability to speak in sentences longer than 140 characters. It was refreshing, to say the least, to meet a truly devoted public servant.

The Florida state legislature recently redistricted our congressional districts. Rep. Deutch isn’t new to Congress, but he is new to our school.The new districts caused him and our former representative to switch districts. Both districts fall in Broward County, a reliably Democratic stronghold.

In a recent town hall meeting in Wilton Manors regarding the ethics of our president, climate change and his proposed 28th Amendment, the congressman exhibited a vocabulary above that of a fifth grader, which is, quite frankly, nice to hear from an elected official in this political climate.

It’s encouraging, to say the absolute minimum, to see that not all public servants speak in emotions (“Sad!”). Albeit, he was facing a friendly crowd, he portrayed comfort behind the podium, as if it were an extension of himself.

His proposed 28th Amendment would overturn the Citizens United ruling which allows for less stringent campaign contribution laws, which tends to favor the über wealthy. He and other sponsors of the amendment have corralled a sizable portion of congressional support, although not enough for passage.

To me, it’s helpful to see my representative actively taking a role in the betterment of our democracy. It’s even more reassuring to see him spearheading the bipartisan committee on climate solutions. The South Florida economy is based primarily on tourism. Do you think that snowbirds will continue flying down for the winter when our beaches have receded into the sea? I think not.

In any event, Rep. Deutch is a breath of fresh air during a toxic administration.

Representative Ted Deutch speaks at a town hall in Wilton Manors on a plethora of issues, ranging from president Trump’s twitter, to his Climate Solutions Committee. Photo by Samuel Rosser